A helpful resource on infant care, toddlerhood, the preschool years, and beyond

Toddler Portions: Tablespoon Per Age

My son Cooper is a big eater. I have never worried that he is not eating enough for long. He has had moments of eating like a bird, but he quickly returns to having a healthy appetite. My twin girls don’t eat as much and it started to stress me out. They are getting about 20-24oz of breastmilk or whole milk currently so I know they are not drinking too much. The girls just don’t eat a ton. So I start to research a little more about how much they should be eating. What I found helped me calm down and realize they were just fine.

A toddler should eat a tablespoon of food per food group for their meal. A one year old portion size is 1 tablespoon, while a two year old portion size is 2 tablespoons. And furthermore, a 3 year old’s portion size is 3 tablespoons per food group. But please remember that every toddler is different and has a different appetite. It is okay if your toddler eats more than the allotted tablespoon amount. My son defiantly eats more than his recommended amount and his pediatrician confirmed that toddlers cannot overfeed themselves under the age of 3.

Like this:

Related

3 Responses

these sample menus with measurements are EXCELLENT, thank you so much. my daughter has a healthy appetite, and now looking at your sample, she might be eating too much! i was measuing OUNCES of food, and since one ounce is equal to TWO tablespoons…well, she has 4-5 ounces of food per meal. she has no real snacks yet.

(we are waiting for her one year wellness appointment with the doctor to change things up; yes, she’s still on formula until then)

so my questions are:

1) is that a tablespoon of RAW or COOKED grain? (i.e. oatmeal, rice, pasta)

2) is your fruit fresh and cut into small pieces or is it 1T of pureed fruit?

3) OR to summarize question #2, are you measuring a tablespoon of solid food (like shredded meat, steamed vegie slices, raw fruit pieces) or pureed? i get the feeling that even though the puree may contain more food in 1T, it may be less filling to my daughter. (i may be wrong here, this is only a hunch and observation)

4) is there any way to incorporate into your above sample menus where the milk goes in? are you considering milk a protein in a meal, or a whole separate event from this schedule?

currently, my daughter (1yr, 2 weeks) wakes up starving wanting her bottle of formula. so even though she’s not having any solids as snacks, her formula and her meals alternate… so in essence, her formula IS like her snacks. she is currently having 3 servings of dairy (cheese, plain yogurt, formula) and her 3 meals. she drinks water from her sippy cup throughout the day as well.

THANK YOU for this post. Even though my daughter is not yet a toddler (7.5 months old), this allays my fears. Just this morning as she ate her squash, I was worrying somewhat about whether she was eating enough. My baby food book says she should be consuming 1-2 tblsps. per meal, two or three times per day. Because of allergy concerns, she only began solids a few weeks ago. So we are still at the stage of doing one meal per day, which is either breakfast or lunch. Right now she eats about 1 tblsp of whatever veggie she is eating that day. Based on what your post says, sounds like she is doing ok, right? She still nurses 4-5 times a day.